Playing for a loaded Team Herro 17u team, Zare is taking on a much smaller role than he has with Racine Park. Despite this, we still got to see him in some extended minutes over the weekend, and he impressed in an opening game win against Northstar Titans. He showed just how versatile of a scorer he’s become, hitting a three, a mid-range jumper, an and-one lay-up, and a transition dunk all in the first half. Zare did all that while constantly pressuring the ball out in the open floor. He’s an explosive athlete at 6’3 who can simply make plays athletically that most high school guards can’t.

Gwinn has made some impressive advancements in his game this season as a sophomore. The past two years Zare was more known as an explosive slasher and scrappy on-ball defender. With Park graduating some key players from last season’s team, Gwinn has taken on a much larger scoring role, and has looked the part of a three level scorer. Despite the loss to Racine Lutheran, Zare poured in 30 points including a number of makes from well beyond the arc. Already one of the most athletic guards in his class, these shooting improvements make him much more dangerous moving forward.

One of two returning starters from Racine Park’s squad that went 27-3 and finished second in the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament last March, Gwinn has been on fire for the Panthers during their impressive 3-0 record to date. He has grown a couple of inches from a year ago and is scoring at a very high clip, averaging 26.0 points for coach Casey Robbins’ team. Gwinn also is contributing a team-best 8.6 rebounds per outing. He had 18 in an impressive win over over state-ranked Waterford, 43 in a win over city-rival Racine Horlick and 17 in a win over Sun Prairie West. Gwinn’s size and athleticism figure to attract the attention of scholarship coaches in the spring and summer.

Zare has some star potential for Racine Park over the next two years. He’s a high flying athlete in the open floor, and that explosiveness translated to the glass where he was a strong rebounder on both ends. For a team that doesn’t feature a lot of size, Zare helped his team out with 10 rebounds. Showed some shot creating ability off the dribble, and was a threat to pull-up from mid-range, hitting a number of jumpers throughout the game for his team high 18 points.

One of the more wired sophomores in the state, Gwinn comes to play with his high energy and confidence apparent each time he steps onto the court for the Park Panthers. An athletic backcourt prospect who can play either guard spot, Gwinn possesses a strong desire to compete and get things done as he is averaging 14.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg for a Park squad that is 26-2 and won the Southeast Conference championship. Gwinn loves to use his speed and impressive first step toward the basket to get into the lane and either score or draw a foul. He ranks second on the team in free throw attempts and third on the team in steals. Gwinn has emerged as one of the better sophomores in the state and has been instrumental in Park getting to the state tournament for the first time since 1960.

Gwinn appears to have taken a big leap athletically since his freshman season. He’s now an explosive athlete who’s a threat to go up and finish above the rim, and that quick burst allows him to make plays defensively as well. Against Oak Creek he pressured the ball hard in the half-court, showed good effort hustling back to protect the rim in transition, and was dangerous with the ball in the open floor. Zare weaves through traffic with ease, and does a nice job of scanning the floor looking for an open teammate. His 13 points and 5 assists helped push Park’s win streak to 8 games.